Aadhaar data: French hacker, Elliot Alderson, exposes flaws in its Android app, asks people not to use it. Rooted phone is not needed and yes this is the latest version of the app, tweeted Alderson, 2:24 PM - Mar 13, 2018.
Aadhaar (English: Foundation) is a 12-digit unique identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Aadhaar is a mass surveilance technology. According to some critics, the dangers of Aadhaar/UIDAI isn't about privacy or data security alone. It is far bigger.
Don't ask “what use it is being put to today?”. Instead ask “what use can it be put to tomorrow and by whom?”. Aadhaar is known to have been effortlessly exploited by and for unauthorised entities, time and again. It is wide open to the risk of foreign government, criminals and terrorists using the breached biometric database to remotely, covertly and non-consensually identify Indians.
An ambitious army general can also mastermind a coup and declare emergency. Being a centralized database, it takes a few seconds to switch off your existence and deny you your own money, deny you any movement, deny you any form of communication, etc. You don't have to be arrested. You can be switched off. You're dead while you're still breathing. Your choice and consent will not be requested because you have none.
Alternative: Shift from biometrics to smart cards. According to Sunil Abraham (Executive Director, the Centre for Internet and Society),
If the UIDAI adopts smart cards, we can destroy the centralized database of biometrics just like the UK government did in 2010 under Theresa May's tenure as Home Secretary.
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